Tourist charged after throwing rock at beloved Maui monk seal

A Washington tourist faces federal charges after a witness recorded him throwing a coconut-sized rock at Lani, a beloved Hawaiian monk seal off a Maui beach, in a case that puts tourism pressure and wildlife enforcement on a collision course.

Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, was charged with harassing and attempting to harass an endangered Hawaiian monk seal, the U.S. attorney’s office in Honolulu said. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration special agents arrested him near Seattle, and he was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday. Prosecutors said a Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources officer investigated the report in Lahaina last week after a witness showed video of the seal swimming in shallow water while a man watched from shore.

In the cellphone video, prosecutors said, the man could be seen holding a large rock with one hand, aiming and throwing it directly at the seal. The rock narrowly missed Lani’s head and caused the animal to abruptly alter its behavior. When confronted, the man allegedly said he did not care and was “rich” enough to pay any fines. For federal prosecutors, the case is about more than one visitor’s conduct: it is a test of whether protected species laws can be enforced in places where people and vulnerable wildlife crowd the same shoreline.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said the charges send a clear message that cruelty toward protected wildlife will not be tolerated. He also said Lani’s return after the wildfires brought a sense of healing and hope during a difficult time. Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered, with only about 1,600 remaining in the wild, and NOAA says the species is endemic to Hawaii and Johnston Atoll. They are protected under both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and NOAA Fisheries says the monk seal is one of the most endangered seal species in the world.

The federal response also reflects a broader conservation problem. NOAA’s recovery plan focuses on reducing human disturbance, protecting habitat and supporting monitoring in the main Hawaiian Islands, where seals increasingly overlap with heavily visited beaches. NOAA’s 2025 Makena-area report documented 206 reported monk seal sightings from Palauea Beach to Ahihi Cove between 2015 and 2024, based largely on public reporting, and found no documented births there during that period. Prosecutors said Lytvynchuk faces up to one year in prison for each charge, plus fines of up to $50,000 under the Endangered Species Act and $20,000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.